India and Australia discuss enhancing cooperation in OIL Sector

India and Australia today discussed the possibilities of further enhancing cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector. At a meeting between the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Murli Deora and the visiting Premier of Western Australia Mr. Alan Carpenter here today, the two sides felt the need for having criss-cross investment by the companies from India and Australia, in both the countries. The two leaders reiterated the vast possibilities in this regard in India and Australia - particularly Western Australia.

Shri Deora while referring to the existing cooperation in various areas of oil and gas sector said that the companies from the two countries could take greater advantage of investment opportunities available in both countries. He referred to the possibility of importing LNG from Western Australia as well as Indian companies picking up more equity oil as part of India’s plans to add E&P properties abroad. Similarly, the cooperation in developing Coal Bed Methane (CBM) projects offer significant possibilities to build upon the participation of Arrow Energy, an Australian company, in the third CBM round which concluded recently. He also invited Australian companies which have strong R&D base in oil and gas sector to set up facilities in India.

Mr. Carpenter informed that Western Australia is a significant source of supplying natural gas particularly the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), for which India is also emerging as a an attractive market. The new projects for enhancing LNG capacity in the country are being implemented to increase this from about 16 million tonnes to about 50 million tonnes. He also invited Indian investment in the exploration and production of hydrocarbon in Western Australia.

Source : Press Information Bureau

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